The Lawatiya Houses

The houses of the Lawatiya, in Muscat

The Sur al-Lawatiya is the fortified quarter of the Lawatiya, one of the most singular places of Muttrah, sometimes nicknamed the forbidden city of Oman. The Muscat audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this mysterious quarter, a witness of the history of a merchant community.

The fortified quarter of the Lawatiya community

The Sur al-Lawatiya is one of the most singular places of Muttrah: the fortified quarter of the Lawatiya community, sometimes nicknamed the forbidden city of Oman. Behind these walls is hidden the history of a prosperous merchant community, the Lawatiya, settled for a long time in Muttrah, where it played an important role in the maritime trade of the town. To preserve its intimacy and its cohesion, the community lived in this enclosed ensemble, girded with walls and accessible through a few gates, forming a true small town within the town, along the corniche. This closed character earned it its nickname, because the quarter was traditionally not open to foreigners. Behind the ramparts are fine traditional houses and a mosque. Although the interior remains largely preserved from the gaze of visitors, the wall of the Sur, its towers and its gates, visible from the corniche, testify to this singular history. A place laden with memory and mystery, the houses of the Lawatiya are a fascinating stop of Muscat.

What to see

Here you discover, from the corniche, the wall, the towers and the gates of the Sur al-Lawatiya, the fortified and enclosed quarter of the Lawatiya merchant community, nicknamed the forbidden city of Oman, which formed a small town within the town with its traditional houses and its mosque, a witness of a singular history. The houses of the Lawatiya are a fascinating place of Muscat. It is a stop to be discovered, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The houses of the Lawatiya, in the Sur al-Lawatiya, lie along the Muttrah corniche, in Muscat, reachable on foot. The quarter is a private and residential ensemble: you admire its walls, its towers and its gates from the corniche, with respect for the intimacy of the inhabitants. You discover it during the walk along the sea.

What is the Sur al-Lawatiya in Muscat?

The fortified and enclosed quarter of the Lawatiya merchant community, in Muttrah, sometimes nicknamed the forbidden city of Oman; girded with walls and traditionally closed to foreigners, it formed a small town within the town with its traditional houses and its mosque.

Where are the houses of the Lawatiya in Muscat?

Along the Muttrah corniche, in Muscat, in Oman.